Posted on 06/22/2005 4:59:10 AM PDT by TrebleRebel
Frankly, my dear, even those who have never seen Gone with the Wind can still identify Rhett Butler's final words to Scarlett O'Hara.
The level of instantaneous recognition inspired by Clark Gable's final line to Vivien Leigh--"Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn"--led the American Film Institute to deem it number one on its list of the top 100 movie quotes.
The listmakers extraordinaire over at the AFI revealed the latest compilation in their 100 Years series--100 Movie Quotes: America's Greatest Quips, Comebacks and Catchphrases--in a three-hour CBS television special Tuesday hosted by Pierce Brosnan.
The winning lines were selected by 1,500 jurors from a list of 400 nominees. Voting criteria included a nominated quote's cultural impact on the national lexicon and whether it was used to invoke the legacy of the film in which it appeared.
In close contention for the top spot on the list were two of Marlon Brando's most famous lines--"I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse," from 1972's The Godfather and "You don't understand! I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I could've been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am," from 1954's On the Waterfront--which finished second and third, respectively.
In fourth place was Judy Garland's naive proclamation to her loyal canine in 1939's The Wizard of Oz: "Toto, I've got a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore."
Humphrey Bogart's remark to Ingrid Bergman in 1942's Casablanca, "Here's looking at you, kid," was looking at fifth place on the list, but was one of six quotes overall chosen from the film. Others included Bogart's "Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship" (20th), "We'll always have Paris" (43rd), "Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine" (67), and Bergman's "Play it, Sam. Play 'As Time Goes By' " (28th).
Gone with the Wind also had multiple entries in the top 100. Leigh's "After all, tomorrow is another day" made the list at number 31, and her "As God is my witness, I'll never be hungry again" was number 59.
The earliest quote was Al Jolson's "Wait a minute, wait a minute. You ain't heard nothin' yet," (71st) from 1927's The Jazz Singer. The most recent was Andy Serkis' "My precious," (85th) from 2002's The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.
Numerous sci-fi films inspired list-making quotes, including Harrison Ford's "May the Force be with you" (8th) from 1977's Star Wars, Arnold Schwarzenegger's "I'll be back" (37) from The Terminator and a certain friendly alien's insistence that "E.T. phone home," (15th) from 1982's E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial.
On the lighter side, John Belushi's exclamations of "Toga! Toga!" from 1978's Animal House made the list at number 82, while Cuba Gooding Jr.'s rallying cry of "Show me the money!" from 1996's Jerry Maguire placed 25th on the list.
Then there were the lines that inspired fear in the hearts of all but the most intrepid moviegoers, such as Jack Nicholson's "Here's Johnny!" (68th) from 1980's The Shining, and Haley Joel Osment's "I see dead people," from 1999's The Sixth Sense (44th).
Patrick Swayze's solemn declaration that "Nobody puts Baby in a corner," from 1987's Dirty Dancing squeaked onto the list at number 98 and Margaret Hamilton's witchy vow, "I''ll get you, my pretty, and your little dog too!" from The Wizard of Oz came in at number 99.
Rounding out the top 100 was Leonardo DiCaprio's passionate shout-out from 1997's Titanic: "I'm king of the world!" (And, please, let that be the last we hear of it.)
The complete list of 100 Movie Quotes: America's Greatest Quips, Comebacks and Catchphrases can be viewed at www.afi.com.
Here's a rundown of the top 25 most memorable movie quotes as determined by the AFI:
1. "Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn." Gone with the Wind, 1939
2. "I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse." The Godfather, 1972
3. "You don't understand! I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I could've been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am." On the Waterfront, 1954
4. "Toto, I've got a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore." The Wizard of Oz, 1939
5. "Here's looking at you, kid." Casablanca, 1942
6. "Go ahead, make my day." Sudden Impact, 1983
7. "All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up." Sunset Boulevard., 1950
8. "May the Force be with you." Star Wars, 1977
9. "Fasten your seatbelts. It's going to be a bumpy night." All About Eve, 1950
10. "You talking to me?" Taxi Driver, 1976
11. "What we've got here is failure to communicate." Cool Hand Luke, 1967
12. "I love the smell of napalm in the morning." Apocalypse Now, 1979
13. "Love means never having to say you're sorry." Love Story, 1970
14. "The stuff that dreams are made of." The Maltese Falcon, 1941
15. "E.T. phone home." E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, 1982
16. "They call me Mister Tibbs!" In the Heat of the Night, 1967
17. "Rosebud." Citizen Kane, 1941
18. "Made it, Ma! Top of the world!" White Heat, 1949
19. "I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!" Network, 1976
20. "Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship." Casablanca, 1942
21. "A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti." The Silence of the Lambs, 1991
22. "Bond. James Bond." Dr. No, 1962
23. "There's no place like home." The Wizard of Oz, 1939
24. "I am big! It's the pictures that got small." Sunset Boulevard, 1950
25. "Show me the money!" Jerry Maguire, 1996
That said, what the hell is "Plastics"? What does that mean? Why is it Number 42? Look down at Number 63 -- "Mrs. Robinson, you're trying to seduce me." Hello!! *Everyone* knows this line.
Sheee-it. When I think "plastics" in a movie, I think "It's a Wonderful Life", but probably only 'cause I've seen it 400+ times.
Which reminds me: Where are "Zuzu's petals?" One of the most-watched movies of all time and they couldn't find a single line worth mentioning? (I'm wondering what the full list of nominees was.)
-- Frank (Dennis Hopper) in 'Blue Velvet'
"Bitch set me up!"
Mayor Marion Barry
-hidden camera sting
TS
I LOVE THAT MOVIE! (Kilmer made that movie what it is, imho).
I actually think Popeye was a very good movie ruined by one of the most depressing and painful soundtracks ever. The exception is the song "I Yam What I Yam," which is basically a riff on the tunes from the old Fleischer cartoons which were written by Sammy Lerner, a great from the 30s. The rest of the music is just bad, which is unfortunate since it was a musical! The casting was perfect, the sets were amazing, the dialogue wasn't bad and the set pieces were well executed. It was just those damn songs.
Harry Nillson could write a song that would depress a hyena.
By the way, "That man could depress a hyena" is one of my favorite movie lines. It's from 1776 and "that man" the character is referring to is George Washington, whose letters were read to the Continental Congress and were supposedly always gloomy and pessimistic.
Clark Griswold: Hey. If any of you are looking for any last-minute gift ideas for me, I have one. I'd like Frank Shirley, my boss, right here tonight. I want him brought from his happy holiday slumber over there on Melody Lane with all the other rich people and I want him brought right here, with a big ribbon on his head, and I want to look him straight in the eye and I want to tell him what a cheap, lying, no-good, rotten, four-flushing, low-life, snake-licking, dirt-eating, inbred, overstuffed, ignorant, blood-sucking, dog-kissing, brainless, dickless, hopeless, heartless, fat-ass, bug-eyed, stiff-legged, spotty-lipped, worm-headed sack of monkey shit he is. Hallelujah. Holy shit. Where's the Tylenol?
My favorite from GWTW was "you need kissing and often, and by someone who knows how"
Swooooooooon........(where's that fainting couch?)*~*
Not to be anal, but I believe the quote is actually, "Perhaps if youze can pool your intelligikence, you'd see I'm asking youze for an apologiky..."
Wargames is one of my all time favorite movies.
Real Genius was great!!! A million great lines from that one! (not to mention, Val Kilmer was a babe!)
The pellet with the poison's in the chalace from the palace.
The vessel with the pessel has the brew that is true.
- Court Jester.
Shalom.
Kelly's Heroes
Where's "When the chips are down and the breaks are beating the boys, tell them to go in there and win one for the Gipper."?
Not only is that a well-quoted (and parodied!) line, but it named an actor for life, who if I'm not mistaken, went on to do some other important things (and make a few more important quotes while he was at it!)
TS
"Tear down this wall."
So many good "one-liners" in Blazing Saddles....they are timeless. LOL
"So I got that going for me" Caddy Shack
Tuco: When you have to shoot, shoot, don't talk.
Blondie: You see, in this world there's two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig.
Cigarette?
Yes. It is.
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